Why your daily cup of tea is getting more expensive in Kerala

In Kerala, teahouses have symbolic value as a shared space for people from different walks of life to meet and as a vital part of the state’s public sphere. | Photo credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Not so long ago, V. Reji’s day started tea from the shop as soon as he finished his morning trips in his autorickshaw. He used to have at least four more during the day. But in recent weeks, he has reduced it to a maximum of two. With tea prices going up in most shops in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala due to a massive hike in commercial cooking gas prices, he finds it difficult to sustain his habit.

“I drive a CNG auto-rickshaw. CNG prices have gone up in the last few weeks. Added to this is the increase in the price of tea and most other food items, even in normal restaurants. Since auto-rickshaws have a rate set by the government, we don’t have the luxury of raising prices when our costs increase. However, tea shops and restaurants should be unregulated, not that they should be regulated. Reji.

His plight is something shared by a large number of daily wage workers, students and even middle-income earners.

On May 1, state-run oil marketing companies increased the price of 19kg commercial cylinders used in tea shops and restaurants by nearly ₹1,000, from the previous price of around ₹2,300. Milma will also hike milk prices by ₹4/litre from June 1, exacerbating the problem further.

Also Read: Lessons Unlearned: On India’s Shortage of Strategic Oil and Gas Reserves

Symbolic value

In Kerala, teahouses have a symbolic value as a shared space for people from different walks of life to meet and as a vital part of the state’s public sphere, with a tumultuous exchange of views on everything under the sun. Groups of people can be seen huddling around the thousands of tea houses that dot the streets of Kerala in the evening hours. The rise in tea prices has come as a dampener of sorts for many of these regular tea drinkers.

One of the hardest hit groups was food delivery workers who work long hours and depend on tea shops and restaurants for most of the day.

“Since our daily targets are steep, with a requirement of at least 27 deliveries, most of us get out of the house at around 6am. We depend on restaurants not just for tea but for everything from breakfast to dinner. The steep hikes have thrown our monthly budgets into disarray as there has been no commensurate increase in our own price tags,” says Ameer, a food delivery worker.

Students who are on a tight budget are another group that has started to feel the pinch. According to Anjana Radhakrishnan, a civil services aspirant studying at a coaching institute in the state capital, prices of tea and food are a problem for many.

“Drinking tea became a habit for me as soon as I started teaching at the coaching institute here. One of the advantages of tea is that it is the cheapest of the refreshing drinks available. But when the prices go up, sometimes we think of cutting down the number of teas to save money,” she says.

Vinod Kumar, a gym trainer in the city, fears that the prices of tea or food items, which are increased due to various reasons, including the increase in gas prices, will not change when gas prices come down.

Tea prices have gone up in Technopark and also in several coffee shops that dot the Kazhakuttam area where IT companies are based.

“Since the entire sector is unregulated, the price hike was at the discretion of the shop owners. In Kazhakuttam area, you can get tea for ₹ 15 to ₹ 25. The price of Boost has gone up to ₹ 70 at some places. The corporation or the government should take some steps to regulate the prices,” says Johnson and K. Joshi of the company.

Published – 22 May 2026 11:29 IST